Smith wants next fight at Anfield

The new WBA champ has big plans for his first defense.

Callum Smith, who won the WBA super middleweight title and the Ali Trophy this past Saturday in Saudi Arabia by knocking out George Groves, is hoping to make his first world title defense a memorable one.

Smith says he wants to fight at Anfield, the home of Liverpool FC.

“Most definitely, the dream has always been to fight at Anfield. I’ve done my part, I’ve brought a world title back, and they have just got a licence to have other events, so it could be meant to be. I’ll be on the phone to Eddie Hearn, asking for my next fight to be at Anfield, and to defend the world title. That can be another box ticked off the bucket list.”

Smith (25-0, 18 KO) would need at least a solid opponent to make Anfield a reality, probably, and there are some decent options at 168, if no major bankable names. But you’ll remember Tony Bellew fought at Goodison Park in Liverpool a couple of years ago against Junior Makabu, so it doesn’t necessarily have to be a huge star. Anfield is bigger than Goodison Park, but Smith might be able to carry it enough to pull it off.

Of course, I think most of us would love to see Smith face Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez in a unification between the top two fighters in the division, but that just might not be doable at this point. Or maybe it will be. Boxing seems predictable with political stuff most of the time, but it can surprise us now and then. Ramirez doesn’t exactly have a ton of great options himself, and if Top Rank see this as worth the while, it could happen.